The Scandal of the Century
by ThnksFrThMmrs87
Summary: When an intimate picture of the youngest princess hits the stands, the people of the OZ learn a lot about their newest royal


Note From The Author-- Short and silly, to make me smile. :)

Disclaimer-- I don't own the characters of Tin Man

"OH. MY. GOD!"

Azkadellia's cry was like the world's best alarm clock, and Glitch was out of bed and sprinting into their sitting room in mere seconds. "What is it? Is it the baby?" he questioned wildly.

"Oh, no, the baby's fine," Az told him, her hand resting protectively on her massively pregnant belly. "I'm sorry I scared you, it's just."

Glitch took the newspaper that she held out and when he saw the full color photo on the front page his eyes went wide as dinner plates. "Oh my God!"

Az nodded, sitting down carefully on their sofa. "I just…wow."

"Yeah," he managed, plopping down next to her.

The front page of the OZ's largest newspaper was splashed with a very vivid and very intimate photo of none other than the realm's youngest princess and the man who had evidently become much more to her than just a Tin Man.

"God they look exquisite together," the elder princess whispered.

"Is that you or the hormones talking?"

She smacked him in the stomach. "Just look at it."

When he got past the shock of it all and took the time to really look at the photo, Glitch found he was forced to agree with his wife. DG and Cain really did look wonderful together. The picture wasn't something that should have ever been seen by anyone but the two of them, but the peak into their private world was downright beautiful.

The front page photo showed the princess and Royal Guard lying in bed twined in each others' arms. Cain lay on his back in the bed with DG draped over him, her breasts completely obscured from view. An expanse of smooth bare back showed, and the only thing that saved the picture from turning x-rated was the sheet that caught at their hips, dipping just below the little tattoo that could barely be made out on the princess's back.

It was an impossibly beautiful scene, showing DG pressing her lips to the Tin Man's chest in a tender kiss. A smaller series of photographs that came along with the article showed what had occurred after her action, playing it out for the reader. The first showed DG with her head resting on Cain's chest, her eyes having drifted closed; in the next he was brushing his lips against her hair and his hand stroking her back. In the last the Tin Man's eyes were closed as well, and they both looked completely at peace.

"Royal Scandal Rocks The OZ," Az scoffed. "They're turning them into a sideshow!"

"Az, honey, when was the last time that you saw a newspaper plastered with a half naked princess and her lover? This is kind of a big deal."

She nodded. "I know, but still…" She trailed off and suddenly struggled to her feet as fast as she could at nearly nine months pregnant. "We've got to tell DG."

"We've got to tell your parents," he muttered.

Azkadellia gasped as she realized the implications of that statement. "They don't even know they're together!"

His wife hurried from the room, and as he trailed behind her Glitch couldn't help but think that today was going to be a very, very interesting day.

When Wyatt Cain heard the pounding on the door of his private quarters in what had been dubbed the friends and family wing of the palace at seven in the morning he was, needless to say, a little disgruntled; nothing related to his work should be coming to his personal rooms, which meant that one of his friends or his son was likely about to get their head ripped off. Rolling out of bed, he pulled on a pair of pants and stalked over to the door, throwing it open.

"What?" he questioned. Glitch and Az both wisely chose not to say anything, only handed over the paper. Cain looked down at it, cursed creatively, and then turned back into the room. "We got a problem Darlin'."

DG groaned, shifting and twisting until she could sit up, holding the sheet against her chest. "Wyatt do you have any idea what time it is?"

He sighed. "I know exactly what time it is, and we've got a problem Sweetheart." He tossed her the paper before turning to speak to Glitch. "Meet us in DG's quarters in fifteen minutes."

The last thing that Azkadellia and her husband heard before the door swung closed was DG's frustrated, "Aw hell."

The four of them met in Princess DG's quarters almost exactly fifteen minutes later, and they brought Raw and Jeb into the mix as well; the more opinions the better. It was only a matter of time before The Queen and Consort would get hold of the newspaper, though the staff were doing their best at the request of the princess to keep the news out of the Queen's chambers.

"Mother's going to kill me," DG muttered. "Damn it, she didn't even know about that tattoo."

"What is it anyway?" Jeb asked.

She grinned. "Zodiac sign, it's a birthday thing we don't have on this side."

"Can we focus please?" Cain asked, sinking onto the bed. "For one thing we've got to figure out how the hell a photographer got those photos, and for two I'll be lucky to live through the day after Ahamo sees those photos, so any ideas on how to keep me from ending up dead would be greatly appreciated."

His evident partner in crime sat down next to him, resting her hand on his leg. "There's always the option of running like hell," she reassured.

The chorus of laughter that rang out wasn't very reassuring, and what was even less reassuring was the voice that they all heard over the top of the laughter. "And nobody thought to invite us to this little pow wow?" Ahamo asked. They all turned to see Ahamo and the Queen standing there, neither of them looking particularly pleased.

"I think it's time that us extras took our leave," Jeb said quietly, trying to ignore the enormous elephant in the room. He and Raw took off along with Glitch, Azkadellia staying only because as hugely pregnant as she was, she couldn't get up quick enough.

DG and Cain stood together, their hands linking them and making them a united front. Neither was quite sure what to say, but levity seemed a decent bet. "Surprise?"

"I'd say surprise would be on the bottom of the list, Angel."

She shook her head. "Mother, we weren't trying to be sneaky, honestly."

Ahamo sighed. "Not telling us about the two of you and letting us find out like this certainly seems sneaky."

"Honestly, sir, this is my fault, I wanted…"

The princess's hand squeezed Cain's and she looked towards her parents. "Wyatt's trying to be noble, and as much as I appreciate it, not telling you was my idea."

"Why, darling?" the Queen asked, more hurt that her daughter hadn't let her in than anything else.

"I sort of got dropped into this whole royalty thing, and as much as I love it here it never occurred to me that everything I did would become the interest of the entire kingdom. I knew when Cain and I started this, whatever you want to call it, that if too many people knew about it that it would get out to the whole of the OZ. Mostly I was falling in love, and I wanted to have that just for us as long as I could."

Cain bent to press a kiss to DG's temple before turning to the royal couple. "You know how hard it is to say no to her. Keeping it to ourselves was what she wanted, and I certainly wasn't going to complain about having her all to myself."

The Queen wasn't quite sure what to do. She could clearly see that her daughter and Mr. Cain were in love, but they still had the matter of the media mess on their hands. Still, they had people to deal with those types of things, and so far the reports they had gotten were telling them that people were more amazed at how perfect DG and her Tin Man seemed than scandalized. "I still wished you would have told us," she managed.

"I know, mother, and I'm sorry we didn't." Her fingers tapped nervously against Cain's as she spoke. "Just tell us what we need to do."

Ahamo shared a look with his wife, then stepped forward, Cain meeting him. "You intend to make an honest woman of my daughter?" he questioned.

Az tried and failed at suppressing a snort and her sister held her hands up. "Um, hey, it's not like I'm the pregnant one here."

"This is serious my angel," her mother told her. "The people seem to be dealing with this rather well, but we have only heard from a portion of the kingdom; and the honest truth is that most of your subjects are rather old fashioned. They'll expect an announcement of marriage after such…" She paused delicately. "Personal photos were published."

The last thing that the queen and her husband expected were the smiles that broke out on the faces of the couple in front of them. "So you're saying that all we would have to do to smooth this over is get married?" DG asked.

"Well, it would certainly go a long way…"

"Mother, why didn't you say so from the beginning?" She tugged on Cain's hand, pulling him back to stand with her again and regarding him with a huge grin. "Hey Wyatt, want to get married?"

The normally stoic former Tin Man flashed her stunning smile. "I'm up for it if you are."

DG turned back to her parents, still smiling. "Good, that's settled then, we'll go have Glitch write up a press release!"

She and Cain were striding from the room hand in hand before anyone could say another word, but Ahamo managed to find his voice again when Az laughed and waddled up next to him. "They're already engaged aren't they?" he questioned with a sigh.

"Correct," she said.

"Well then where on earth is her ring?" the Queen questioned.

Az smiled. "On a chain around her neck. She looked between her parents with a sigh, patting them both on the shoulder. "Look at it this way; you don't have to worry over suitors."

"I think I may have liked it better if I had to worry over them," Ahamo muttered to himself.

"Nonsense, we'll be glad that our daughter has managed to find someone so clearly perfect for her."

"Eventually," Az finished for her.

Ahamo nodded. "Yes, eventually."

The eldest princess started out of the room ahead of her parents, her hand pressing into her back. "Just be glad you've only got one pregnant princess to deal with. Well, that and trying to explain that tattoo of DG's."

"Tattoo?!"


End file.
